If you’ve lived in New York City for any period of time, you have seen your fair share of newly constructed buildings and the demolition of countless others. Less apparent are the changes taking place behind the facades of existing residential buildings and how those changes are impacting the well-documented housing shortage. Since 1950, NYC has lost more than 100,000 apartments through apartment combinations and the conversion of multi-unit buildings into single-family homes, according to a recent article in the NY Times. Certainly, the net number of new apartments is greater today than it was in 1950, but the reduction of total unit count through combinations and conversions is an underreported issue exacerbating the lack of sufficient housing in NYC.
Wealthy Neighborhoods with Transit Access Most Affected
The desire for more space is something any city dweller can appreciate but not many can afford. Therefore, it should come as a surprise to no one that the combination of apartments is taking place in wealthier neighborhoods in NYC like the Upper East Side and the West Village in Manhattan and Park Slope in Brooklyn. These neighborhoods enjoy easy access to transit and jobs and the very reason why we need more not fewer homes. We need not begrudge folks seeking more space for growing families or due to greater purchasing power, but it does play a role in the overall insufficient supply of housing.
Take the row houses on 88th Street between Amsterdam and Columbus Avenues where there are 173 units, compared to more than 400 on the same street in the 1960s. This is the result of the conversion of multi-family buildings into single-family homes.
How Much Space is Enough: Depends Who You Are
Another example of this is 12 East 72nd Street, owned by a well-known NYC landlord. Twenty years ago, the property (totaling nearly 20,000 sq. ft.) contained 23 apartments before being turned into a single-family home for the owner and his family. Opulent for sure but not illegal.
Brooke Shields (of 1980s Blue Lagoon fame) jumped into the single family conversion game by turning an eight unit Greenwich Village building into a home worthy of an Architectural Digest spread.
From 2010 to 2021, the community district that includes the Upper East Side has seen net zero new housing during that period. Yes, 3,000 units of new housing were added but 1,000 were lost through demolition and 2,000 through consolidation.
One Example Highlights the Economics of a Single-Family Conversion
The economics of these deals make sense as this example highlights:
- Purchase Price: $1,500,000
- Renovation Cost: $750,000
- Re-sale to End User: $3,250,000
- Profit: $1,000,000 (excludes carrying costs)
The decline in unit count through the consolidation of apartments and conversion of buildings cannot be blamed on individual households. It is a citywide problem that stems from policy choices made at the local and state levels. Adam Brodheim, a preservationist who conducted much of the research, says the loss of apartments in these ways would not be a problem “if you were building a lot of new housing.” But alas, the number of new developments in the pipeline in NYC is down significantly compared to historical averages with nothing to suggest this will change in the near term.
Website Source: Zaveri, M. (2023, October 19). How 100,000 apartments in New York City disappeared. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/19/nyregion/nyc-apartments-housing-crisis.html
Be First to Comment